I bought three mugs online to test and use. Two of those were Contigo AUTOSEAL West Loops, and one was a Zojirushi SM-YAE48RA. I gifted the two Contigos and kept the Zojirushi. Here’s my review of the Zojirushi.

When you hit the road, you want a comfortable mug of warm coffee perched on your lap or sitting in the cup holder.

What better way to spend a long drive than with a good companion (my wife), Morrissey’s ‘Everyday Is Like Sunday’ oozing from the CD player and a warm mug of caffeine to snuggle up to?

In this review I pit the Zojirushi against a cheap plastic mug my wife bought me some years ago. I followed the same route with the Contigo West Loop mug (read my Contigo review). In another post I compare the Zojirushi to the Contigo. Better sign up to receive more of this sort of thing.

The cheap plastic travel mug my wife bought me a few years ago. It says KEEP CALM AND GROW A MOUSTACHE on the side of the mug.

First test

For testing the Zojirushi, I compared data collected from testing the Zojirushi, to data collected from testing the plastic travel mug for the Contigo article. There’s no need to duplicate the plastic travel mug test.

For the first test, I poured coffee with a temperature of 66 degrees Celsius (150,8 degrees Fahrenheit) into the Zojirushi and the plastic travel mug.

In both cases I measured the coffee’s temperature every half an hour, for five hours.

For me, 66 degrees Celsius is warm enough, but some might find it too cold. I wasn’t concerned with the drinking temperature; I wanted to test the Zojirushi’s heat retention capability.

The temperature of the coffee in the Zojirushi dropped 32 degrees Celsius (57.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over a five hour period.

The temperature of the coffee in the plastic travel mug dropped 45 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) over a five hour period.

Here’s a table showing the difference in temperature over a five-hour period, measured every half an hour.

This table shows the drop in temperature of coffee in a Zojirushi and a cheap plastic travel mug, measured every half an hour, for five hours.

These pics display the drop in temperature of coffee in the Zojirushi…

The coffee had a temperature of 66 degrees Celsius when I first poured it into the Zojirushi.

After 30 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 58 degrees Celsius.

After 60 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 53 degrees Celsius.

After 90 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 49 degrees Celsius.

After 120 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 46 degrees Celsius.

After 150 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 44 degrees Celsius.

After 180 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 41 degrees Celsius.

After 210 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.

After 240 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius.

After 270 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius.

After 300 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius.

…and these pics display the drop in temperature of coffee in the cheap plastic travel mug…

The coffee had a temperature of 66 degrees Celsius when I poured it into the cheap plastic mug.

After 30 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 51 degrees Celsius.

After 60 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.

After 90 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 31 degrees Celsius.

After 120 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.

After 150 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 29 degrees Celsius.

After 180 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius.

After 210 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 23 degrees Celsius.

After 240 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 23 degrees Celsius.

After 270 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 21 degrees Celsius.

After 300 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 21 degrees Celsius.

Second test

For the second test I poured coffee into the Zojirushi at 10:42 am in the morning. It measured 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit). I measured it again at 17:08 pm. That’s six hours and 26 minutes later. It measured 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).

That’s a drop of 35 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit). The second test showed similar results to the first.

With the second test, the coffee had a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius when I poured it into the Zojirushi.

After six hours 26 minutes, the coffee had a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius.

Note: These tests were done in a normal home in a normal suburb of a normal little town on a spectacular coast.

Ideal coffee temperature

The Coffee Detective says that the ideal temperature range for coffee is between 155ºF to 175ºF (70ºC to 80ºC)

Driftaway Coffee‘s Scott says coffee should be between 120°F and 140°F (48.88°C to 60°C).

It’s down to personal preference.

How to use it

Unscrew the Zojirushi’s lid, pour your beverage into the tumbler and screw the lid back on.

If you don’t want to scorch your lips, wait a few minutes before you screw the lid onto the main body after having filled it.

Does the AeroPress fit?

When you make AeroPress coffee in a different container and pour it into your travel mug, you lose heat with the transfer.

I made coffee inside the Zojirushi straight from the AeroPress and the temperature measured 73 degrees Celsius. When I made coffee in a stainless jug and poured it into the Zojirushi, the temperature measured 66 degrees.

2 thoughts on “Zojirushi SM-YAE48 Travel Mug”

Great Commercial! Compares ‘apples’ to ‘oranges’. Contigo makes a comparable mug to this Zojirushi. Would have loved to see that comparison. A lot of work and research to give an opinion that a Corvette is better than a KIA! PS If you are going to use the pronoun “I” throughout an article… It’s more believable if you tell people who “I” really is! PSS… I own Zojirushi and Contigo mugs and find the comparable mugs nearly equal with a slight edge to Zojirushi. PSS After a year and a half, since this commercial was posted, and no comments? Odd! Figure this one won’t post neither.